I think lying is also a bit culturally based. I'm Dutch and even here in this small country he have fast differences. People from Braband (Southern state) are way more warm and tend to be more nice and lie for good will. I my self grew up in Noord-Holland where the people are more harsh. I tend to be painfully true. If my wife is gone for a day and returns to me she always asks me: "Did you mis me?". I always say: "No", it's simpel: she has not been gone that long to miss her and why lie? Currently she asks the same thing and says after that: "Lie to me". And I do because I love her.

We reflexively instruct our children to always tell the truth. It's even encoded into Boy Scout Law. It's what adults do, isn't it? But do we? Isn't telling the truth too much and too often a bad life strategy – perhaps even dangerous? Is telling children to always tell the truth even itself th...